A new British neo-soul album, an old favourite from Denmark's Simon and Garfunkel and five top tracks spanning London via Brooklyn and Oslo - a selection of Europe's music tips of the month

Favourite album of the month: The Life and Death of the Male Body (2009), The Rumour Said Fire

The four lads from Copenhagen sound a bit like Simon & Garfunkel and are a famously quiet, modest indie band. They formed in 2008, released their debut EP in September 2009 and on 15 January 2010 won the P3 Gold prize, after the Danish radiochannel P3. Now, their most famous song is The Balcony, and for the last couple of weeks they have been the Danish band selling the most tracks on itunes. Get to know them (Thomas Gam Nielsen, Aarhus)

Album release of the month: The Sea (2010), Corinne Bailey Rae

It's morbid, it's true: a huge part of the anticipation in hearing the Grammy-nominated British singer's second album doesn't just come from her bright, mellow vocals, immortalised by her debut single Put Your Records On (2006). Released on 2 February 2010, this disc comes two years after the 30-year-old lost her husband, saxophonist Jason Bruce Rae, to a drugs overdose. The new year might have freshly begun, but it's that moving and inspirational record that certain of us have been waiting for to climb out of the dark (Nabeelah Shabbir, Paris)

Top 5 tracks of the month, recommended from Warsaw

1. Angel Echoes, Four Tet

Kieran Hebden's There Is Love In You album is released on 25 January. Vibe happy on his EU/ US tour, which starts in February in Berlin and ends in Rome in April

2. Coffee Spoon, Cold War Kids

After releasing an average album in Loyalty to Loyalty (2008), the American foursome are back on form. The Behave Yourself EP may only be four songs, but each of them is deserving. Out on 19 January, it's a promising hint of their upcoming LP

3. Black Smoke, Tindersticks

The band from Nottingham released their eighth album on 25 January 2010, and will tour Europe from February til May

4. My Lady, Kevin Barker

Brooklyn, watch out - Barker's about. He's collaborated with the likes of Devendra Banhart, and you can hear an excerpt of this track from his debut album You And Mehere

5. One-Armed Bandit, Jaga Jazzist

There's nine of them, they're Norwegian, they've been around (they formed in 1994), and they're on tour somewhere near you until July. Inspiration is due for a band who first started recording together in a Swedish forest

(Andrzej Kedzierawski, Warsaw)

(Videos courtesy of Youtube: The Rumour Said Fire hbjohansen; Four Tet zef99; Cold War Kids playing live in October 2008 in Williamsburg giantsquid18; Tindersticks TinderNikos; The Thing perform Jaga Jazzist's One Armed Bandit riff in Chicago in November 2009 jagajazzistdotcom)